Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T)

STEM standouts and rigorous academics will fit right in at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Aspiring engineers "are exposed to just about every different type of engineering"-including aerospace, metallurgical and mechanical-making it "one of the best universities that prepares engineers for industry." Students acknowledge that courses are "very tough and intimidating," to the point at which "it's not uncommon to have a 55 percent or less average on a test." That said, the purpose isn't to deflate GPAs; it's to "prepare students to find a job in the real world and help us to get the experience to succeed in it," and graduates claim "the quality of education and availability of resources here is second to none." Undergraduates master material via "hands-on learning, small class sizes, and caring professors" who are "some of the smartest professors in the world." And though "the professors are there to challenge you" and matriculants caution that you should "not expect to be babied at all," enrollees make clear that "all of the professors have office hours, whether open or by appointment" and they consider "the accessibility of instructors and other faculty/staff" one of the school's strengths. Plus, all that time spent puzzling over problem sets typically pays off; Missouri S&T "comes in the top ten schools in average starting salary for graduates and won't guarantee a huge debt burden."

The Missouri S&T campus is a safe place to be smart and draws an accordingly bookish student body. As students put it, those who were "a little nerdy" and out of place, "now can be themselves" as proud S&T Miners. And while they "came here primarily to learn," they're not opposed to socializing or making new friends-in fact, that commonality makes it "really easy to just to strike up a conversation with someone." The "very friendly" folks on campus "live together in harmony" and with over 200 student organizations, "everyone can find a place to fit in." While the majority of the students enrolled are from Missouri, the others hail "from the edges of the nation and even some foreign countries, which is astounding considering our small enrollment size." Regardless of their origins, students say they "adapt to the social environment" fairly quickly and then, for the most part, coexist happily as like-minded, hardworking peers.

Missouri S&T may be "a small school in the middle of Missouri," but its "range of student organizations is mind-boggling." Besides joining such groups, students can participate in Greek life and partake in school-sponsored recreation like "scavenger hunts, video game nights, cooking classes, viewing parties, dance lessons, and much more." That said, at a place where "all of the students are always worrying about that next exam in calculus," it isn't surprising that undergrads spend a lot of their free time studying. Here, "academics are everyone's top priority." But students say that when they're not hitting the books, "drinking is pretty big on weekends" and also cite athletics and fitness as popular pastimes. Those who need to get off-campus note that "there's not so much to do in the town" of Rolla but say that St. Louis is accessible for day trips. Most enrollees busy themselves on campus with extracurriculars or further exploration of their academic interests. "Virtually every student is either heavily involved in a diverse group of these student organizations or devotes much of their time to design teams or research."